Decorated WWE Superstar Leaves the Company

Cesaro has left the WWE, according to a new report from PWInsider's Mike Johnson that broke on Thursday. The seven-time former tag team champion has been with the company since 2011, but chose to leave after negotiations between he and company officials failed to come to terms on a new a new deal. Because his departure was via his contract expiring and not via a release, he will not have to deal with a 90-day "No Compete" clause. His final match took place on the Feb. 11 episode of SmackDown, in which he lost to Happy Corbin.

"We are told the two sides had been in negotiations but had not come to terms on a new agreement. One source noted that WWE did offer Cesaro an extension on his current deal but that was turned down," Johnson wrote. 

Given his immense strength and understated charisma and sense of humor, "The Swiss Superman" was often considered by fans to be one of WWE's most underrated stars. The closest he came to WWE's main event scene was a month-long program with Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania Backlash 2021. After failing to beat "The Tribal Chief," Cesaro was pushed right back down into SmackDown's midcard. He pushed publicly for a rematch with Reigns in the months that followed, but nothing materialized. 

"I took Roman to the limit and I don't think he liked it, so let's do it again," he told GiveMeSport in July. "To me what it comes down to at the end of the day is what happens after the bell rings. Even when I've wrestled Roman Reigns in the past, I was able to take him to the limit, and maybe to a place where he doesn't like to be because he's not usually there. He's not usually pushed that way, I like to think, and that's exactly what happened when the bell rang. Whatever his attitude is, it changes. He does what he does, he does what he thinks he has to do. My attitude changed from when I wrestled him before to now. I feel like we all matured, we all changed, we all developed, we all progressed. But at the end of the day, it's about what happens when that bell rings. To me, that's what's important. Like you said [he had] a year great, but so did I, so let's see what happens."